Geography and Public Planning:

The Sta. Rosa Watershed, a case study in interlocal, public-private sector resource management

Edgardo Tongson
HDN DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES
PHDR ISSUE 2012/2013

NO. 12

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Geography and Public Planning: The Sta. Rosa Watershed, a case study in
inter-local, public-private sector resource management
Edgardo E Tongson
Consultant for Water Resources Development
WWF-Philippines
Email: etongson@wwf.org.ph

Abstract
Most cities and urbanizing areas in the Philippines are not prepared to address short and long
term impacts from flooding, water scarcity and wastes. Using the case of the Santa Rosa
watershed, we described the changing hydrology brought about by population increases,
changing land uses and changing climate. These hydrologic changes will affect water supplies,
public health, food security and intensify natural disasters such as flooding, land subsidence and
land slides to many areas including areas thought to be less vulnerable. The lack of stable,
accountable, scale-relevant institutions are largely to blame for failures in public planning.
Planning at watershed scales to address water externalities offers more holistic and cost-effective
solutions compared to conventional approaches. To respond to this challenge, we looked at
current legislations, institutional gaps, past attempts and lessons in watershed planning. The
study examines the local dynamics, inter-local, public-private sector resource management of the
Sta. Rosa Watershed by reviewing history of cooperation, interests, politics, perceptions and
capacities. As a way forward, the Clean Water Act provides a decentralized framework where
LGUs could prepare and align watershed plans with local plans and site development activities.
Finally, we abstract lessons based on what works and does not work in mobilizing stakeholders
to respond to watershed scale issues.

Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 2
Acronyms ....................................................................................................................... 4
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5
2. Flooding ..................................................................................................................... 6
3. Groundwater Resources ............................................................................................. 8
4. Water Quality ........................................................................................................... 10
5. Land Use Change and Impacts to Downstream Hydrology..................................... 11
6. Chronology of Water Legislations in the Philippines .............................................. 12
7. Public Planning Using Watershed Approaches ...................................................... 14
8. Institutional Diagnosis ............................................................................................. 19
9. Dynamics of Institutions in the Santa Rosa Watershed ........................................... 21
10. Towards Developing Decentralized Watershed Institutions in Santa Rosa: The Missing Link
in IWRM ...................................................................................................................... 28
References: ................................................................................................................... 34
List of Tables
Table 1 Comparative summary of Minimum and Maximum Annual Demand, Recharge Rates
and Volume of Water Permits Allocated, MCM/yr ............................................... 9
Table 2 Chronology of Water Laws Passed ................................................................. 12
Table 3 Salient Features of the Philippine Water Code of 1976 and IRR ................... 19
Table 4 Mapping Political Bases of Stakeholders in the Santa Rosa Watershed ........ 27
Table 5 Relevant Functions Proposed for Co-Management Agreements .................... 29
Table 6 List of Watershed Stakeholders ...................................................................... 30
Table 7 Salient Features of Clean Water Act ............................................................... 31
List of Figures
Fig. 1 Map of Santa Rosa Watershed showing political and watershed boundaries ..... 6
Fig. 2 Flood Risk Map of lower Santa Rosa Watershed ................................................ 7
Fig. 3 Four Candidate Sites for Cones of Depression and Total Volume of Granted Permits, in
MCM/year. ............................................................................................................. 9
Fig. 4 Present Land Use (Left) and Future Zoning Map (Right) of Silang. Source: SPOT Imagery
2008 (left), Silang Municipal Planning Office (right) ......................................... 12
Fig. 5 Hierarchy of watershed plans ............................................................................ 16
Fig. 6 Site Development Plan in relation to Watershed drainage ................................ 18

Acronyms
CALABARZON
CLUP
DPWH
DILG
DENR
DOH
EMB
HLURB
IWRM
LGU
LISCOP
NEDA
NIA
NPC, NAPOCOR
LLDA
LWUA
MENRO
MMDA
NWRB
PAGASA
S3R2
USAID
WWF

Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon Economic

Corridor
Comprehensive Land Use plans
Department of Public Works and Highways
Department of Interior and Local Government
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Department of Health
Environmental Management Bureau
Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
Integrated Water Resources Management
Local Government Unit
Laguna de Bay Institutional Strengthening and Community
Participation
National Economic Development Authority
National Irrigation Administration
National Power Corporation
Laguna Lake Development Authority
Local Water Utilities Administration
Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office
Metro Manila Development Authority
National Water Resources Management Board
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical
Services Administration
Save Silang-Santa Rosa River
United States Agency for International Aid
World Wide Fund for Nature

1. Introduction
The devastating floods from Typhoon Ondoy in 2009 reveal the state of unpreparedness of our
cities such as Matro Manila to extreme weather events. Mountainous and upland areas
surrounding Metro Manila, that should be zoned as natural areas or areas under controlled
development, are losing their watershed functions. These areas which used to provide a range of
important ecological services, such as recharging downstream aquifers, flood regulation, water
purification, nutrient cycling and supplying water flows during dry months, have been deforested
and degraded.
The floods and drought in the past 20 years are now being described as the new normal with
many experts predicting that the worse has yet to come. Failure to plan and prepare for these
events can be traced to the lack of stable and accountable institutions that would provide
continuity in public planning and policies.
The Santa Rosa Watershed, being close to Metropolitan Manila, has similarly felt the stress
associated with urbanization and industrialization, not only within its boundary but also from its
neighboring towns. Rapid population growth, intensive land development and landform changes
have reduced its natural capacity to retain water and hold rainfall during rainy days. It has
resulted in wide flooding, water pollution and emerging water scarcities.
The Climate Change scenario for Laguna predicts a decrease in rainfall from 20 to 30% in dry
months by 2020 and by 34% by 2050 and a maximum of 1 meter rise in sea levels (PAGASA
2010). Climate change will pose additional burden as it affects water availability and increase
flood risks to downstream communities.
The pressing issues are overshadowed by the bigger questions on where and how will present
developments draw its freshwater? How and where will it dispose its wastes? How to address
flooding? How can sustainability and best practices be mainstreamed? What are the institutional
arrangements that need to be put in place to ensure holistic and integrated management of
freshwater and watersheds? What will be roles and functions of National Agencies, LGUs, water
districts, and other water users? What have we learned so far?
This study will examine the inter-local, public-private sector resource management of the Sta.
Rosa Watershed. It describes the institutional arrangements at play (e.g. rules, processes, the
vertical and horizontal organization of agencies, the organization of state and non-state agents, if
any); their rationale, and the conditions which they evolve and remain responsive. Finally, we
propose how institutional arrangements can be improved and abstract some lessons in moving
forward.

Fig. 1 Map of Santa Rosa Watershed showing political and watershed boundaries

1.1 Physical Setting

The Sta. Rosa River Basin is one of twenty-four watersheds surrounding the Laguna de Bay. The
watershed is located approximately between 14 08 and 14 21 North Latitude and between
120 59 and 121 10 East Longitude. The watershed has an area of about 120 km2 comprising
4.1% of the Laguna Lake Basin. It is one of four elongated basins emanating from the Tagaytay
ridge and draining towards Laguna Lake. The watershed has a population of 570,000 and covers
practically the whole City of Sta. Rosa and Cabuyao municipality, the southern part of Bian and
several eastern barangays of the municipality of Silang, Cavite.

2. Flooding
Flooding is an inter-municipal problem shared by Binan, Santa Rosa and Cabuyao towns.
Flooding occurs due to excessive runoff from upland areas or from rising lake levels as in the
2009 Ondoy floods. Fig. 2Error! Reference source not found. presents the flood risk map of the
lower Santa Rosa watershed prepared after Typhoon Ondoy.
During moderate to heavy rains, the Santa Rosa River overflows its banks due to large volume of
runoff coming from its watershed and its inadequate capacity. Flooding is further aggravated by

the inadequate capacity of the citys drainage system to convey local runoff to the waterways.
The irrigation system in Bgy Macabling, now heritage structures, served as conduit for
stormwater in the absence of formal drainage systems. A network of canals that used to flood
rice paddies is flooding surrounding residential subdivisions.

Fig. 2 Flood Risk Map of lower Santa Rosa Watershed

The high risk areas (red zone) are located downstream from the Macabling irrigation weir.
Eighty-five percent (85%) of the peak flood waters entering the weir originates from Silang
Municipality. Moderate flooding (in purple) along a segment of the Santa Rosa river extends to
Binan City.
The experience in flood master planning has been reactive. Most towns aspiring to become cities
often lack the foresight to handle complex problems brought by urbanization, such as solid
wastes, water pollution, flooding and water scarcity.
For flooding, flood master plans will need to address not only current capacities of drainage
structures but also future capacity requirements due to upstream urbanization. Silang plays a
major role in basin wide planning. Deforestation, soil erosion and conversion of permeable lands
into permeable surfaces (roads, houses, parking lots and other structures) reduce the natural
capacity of the land to retain rainwater which results to flooding in lower areas.
Flood mitigation plans should encompass basin-wide structural and non-structural solutions.
Structural solutions include retention/detention ponds, infiltration ponds, vegetative strips,
sediment basins, check dams and flood impounding systems. Drainage pipes crossing towns and
cities in lower Santa Rosa watershed should be compatible in size and capacity and sized

appropriately to anticipate changes in land uses and surface water runoff. Non-structural
solutions should complement structural interventions. This will require harmonizing land use
plans, flood zone regulations, subdivision and building codes and installing inter-LGU early
flood warning systems.
3. Groundwater Resources
The groundwater resources in the western bay of Laguna Lake are reported to be fair to
extensive. Following the surface gradient, the groundwater flows northeast from the Taal caldera
in the general direction of Laguna Lake.
The hydrogeology of Santa Rosa watershed is characterized by both unconfined and confined
aquifers. The unconfined aquifer is found in the alluvium areas in the plains near the lake. These
alluvium areas are tapped by shallow wells, mostly for domestic use.
Several layers of confined aquifers can be found at greater depths (>100 m). A confined aquifer
is an aquifer bounded above and below by clayey layers having lower permeability, called
aquitards. Aquitards and upward hydraulic pressure protect water below them from above
ground contaminants.
Recharge to unconfined aquifers occurs via percolation to the water table. In contrast, recharge to
confined aquifers by percolation from the surface occurs only at the upstream end of the
confined aquifer, where the geologic formation containing the aquifer is exposed to the earths
surface.
Topography exerts an important influence on groundwater flow. The Santa Rosa landscape can
be divided into areas of recharge and areas of discharge (or production). The recharge zone lies
west of the fault line and forms part of the elevated plateau of the Silang Municipality. Here, the
dominant land cover is agriculture, grasslands and shrub lands. These lands are permeable which
allows rainfall to infiltrate and percolate into the groundwater.
The alluvial plain east of the Marikina fault line is the discharge or the production zone. The
aquifer capacity within the production zone is calculated at 15 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters),
assuming an area of 24,940 hectares, depth of 300 m and average soil porosity of 20%.
The recharge rate is the amount of water that replenishes the groundwater in a given year. More
recent water balance studies for the Binan, Santa Rosa and San Cristobal basins indicate recharge
rates of 24, 38, and 44 MCM/year respectively (Rojas (2011), Rojas (2009), Rojas (2008).
For the three (3) basins, the total recharge rate is 106 MCM/year. This provides the theoretical
limit to groundwater abstraction. The domestic, commercial, institutional and industrial water
demand was estimated to range from 68.76 to 92.03 MCM/year (Table 1). The volume of water
rights is 178 MCM/yr, which exceed recharge rates by 68%.

Table 1 Comparative summary of Minimum and Maximum Annual Demand, Recharge Rates
and Volume of Water Permits Allocated, MCM/yr

Town

Min

Max

Recharge

Binan
Cabuyao
Santa Rosa
Silang
Calamba
Total

13.82
18.71
16.80
1.71
17.71
68.76

19.21
22.92
22.28
2.53
25.09
92.03

24
38
44
106

Volume Granted (NWRB

2010)
28.19
31.43
45.29
8.17
65.42
178.50

The 92 MCM/yr demand figure, while falling within recharge limits, represent the lower range of
demand estimates. Actual demand may be higher as not all wells are registered. Also, no
verification is made as to submitted reports to NWRB.
The top 5 of 45 companies account for 68% of industrial demand for water. The dense clustering
of wells, especially among residential and industrial wells, may result in competition and
lowering of the water table (Fig. ). A cone of depression describes the tendency for groundwater
to flow downward towards the deepest well in a well cluster.
Previous studies referred to lowering of groundwater tables from over pumping by NIA wells
way back in the 70s and 80s. With urbanization, experts predict a shortage of groundwater in
the region (Haman 1996, Rollan 2009a).

Fig. 3 Four Candidate Sites for Cones of Depression and Total Volume of Granted Permits, in
MCM/year.

4. Water Quality
Santa Rosa River is classified as a Class C water body by the DENR. Based on DENR
Administrative Order No. 34 (Revised Water Usage and Classification), the beneficial uses of a
surface water classified as Class C include fishery water for the propagation and growth of fish
and other aquatic resources; recreational water class II (for boating, etc.), and as Industrial Water
Supply Class I (for manufacturing processes after treatment).
City consultants undertook water quality sampling in 13 stations along the Santa Rosa river in
2010 and 2011. The results show that Dissolved Oxygen (DO) consistently failed the standard
for Class C waters for all 13 stations tested. Sampling results for coliform failed by a wide
margin in all the 6 stations tested (TCGI 2011).
From the Macabling Dam to the mouth of the Santa Rosa River, water quality progressively
deteriorates as pollution loadings from the watershed and drainage outfalls enter the river. The
low DO concentration and high coliform counts are reflective of the contribution of untreated
domestic wastewater, commercial and industrial wastes and solid wastes entering Santa Rosa
River.
WWF assessed the public wells used or drinking in Santa Rosa City and Binan City in 2009 and
2010 respectively. The parameters tested were total coliform and e-coli following the Philippine
National Drinking Standards (Rollan 2009b, Rollan 2010). There are 1,866 public wells
servicing 8465 households in Santa Rosa. Only 1104 or 60% is used for drinking, while the rest
is used for washing. Of the 77 wells tested, 6 or 7.8% failed the tests. In Binan, there are 676
wells servicing 1655 households. Only 17% of the wells are used for drinking. 11 of 47 sampled
wells (23%) failed the tests. Upon investigation many wells were observed to be poorly
maintained, have cracked bases and are susceptible to flooding. Others are built on or beside
canals, near toilets, piggery farms and other point sources of pollution.
Surface and groundwater pollution in Santa Rosa have serious consequences on public health.
Upper respiratory tract infection is the leading cause of morbidity in Santa Rosa with a rate of
13,852 per 100,000 as recorded by the Health Office in 2007. Other diseases attributed to poor
water quality are diarrhea, acute gastritis, and skin diseases. Acute water diarrhea is consistently
listed in the top five leading causes of morbidity in the city. Being exposed to dirty water may
also be a possible cause of allergic dermatitis.
4.1 Pollution Load Modeling
Previous studies by LLDA indicate that 60% of the pollution in the Santa Rosa River comes
from domestic wastes. Pollution load modeling based on population of 530,000 is estimated at
3,665 Metric Tons per year, assuming 50 grams per capita-day and 60% septage efficiency. The
Santa Rosa City is presently commissioning an Engineering Study for Flood Control and
Combined Drainage/Sewerage System (TCGI 2011).

10

5. Land Use Change and Impacts to Downstream Hydrology

Changes in the land use upstream affect hydrology processes including the quantity and quality
of water draining to downstream communities. The Municipality of Silang of the Province of
Cavite support the headwaters of seven sub-basins four of which including the Santa Rosa
River Basin drain towards Laguna Lake, while three others drain towards Manila Bay.
Water retention is affected by both vegetation and permeable soils. A forested watershed retains
more storm water in its soil, understory litter and rough surface and slowly releases the water
after rain has stopped. A bare watershed will exhibit a faster time to peak and faster recession
while increasing flood volumes. Both vegetatio and soil permeability are affected by land
developments.
Comparisons of peak floods between pre-development (agricultural) and post-development
(residential) conditions show 25% average increase in peak floods for 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100
year return intervals (Sherwood 1986). Studies further indicate that even low levels of
urbanization (5-10% imperviousness), stream ecosystems begin to rapidly decline (Schueler
1994).
5.1 Future Land Use of Silang
The future scenario of land uses in Silang is relevant to anticipating the effects to flooding
downstream. The CLUP of Silang shows the headwater of the Santa Rosa watershed located
northeast of Silang as zoned for built-up areas (in yellow in right map) (Fig. ). This will allow
agricultural, shrub lands and grasslands to become subdivisions, industrial parks, roads and other
built up uses.
Assuming zoning plans are fully realized, the built up areas will expand from 30% to 50% of the
total land area, while agricultural land will decrease from 60% to 38%. The resulting changes in
storm water flows shows a slight increase in runoff from 62.8% to 65.5% of rainfall. While
groundwater recharge will be reduced from 13.2% to 11.5% of rainfall. Flood modeling in the
seven sub-basins of Silang show future increases in runoff volumes by magnitudes of 2% to 20%
and -5% to 11% in peak floods respectively. Negative values in peak floods show land
conversion in lower parts may actually attenuate flash flooding at the basin outlet.
5.2 Implications on Downstream Flooding
Among the seven Silang sub-basins, model simulation shows the Santa Rosa sub-basin having
the greatest increase of 20% in flood discharges and 11% in peak floods from current levels,
assuming a 25-year storm return period. This scenario is expected to worsen flooding in
downtown Santa Rosa.
The cost of flooding in terms of lost investments, relocation, deteriorating land values and
pollution of groundwater supplies to the City of Santa Rosa can be significant. While the Flood
Master Plan of Santa Rosa City recommends dredging and widening of the Sta Rosa, Malusak
and Caingan rivers, unregulated land conversion upstream will likely overwhelm the capacities
of these structures in the long-term.

11

Fig. 4 Present Land Use (Left) and Future Zoning Map (Right) of Silang. Source: SPOT Imagery
2008 (left), Silang Municipal Planning Office (right)

6. Chronology of Water Legislations in the Philippines

Institutions are defined as the humanly devised constraints that structure human interaction.
They are made up of formal constraints (e.g., rules, laws, constitutions), informal constraints
(e.g., norms of behavior, conventions, self-imposed codes of conduct), and their enforcement
characteristics. Together they define the incentive structure of societies and specifically
economies (North, 1994).
In this section, we generalize how laws, reflecting the contextual challenges of the period in
which they are crafted, are able to adapt through time - progressing from unregulated and
abundant supply conditions, resource constraints and supply limitations, state ownership of
waters, setting standards, limits and formulating rules, to finally adapting and reworking the
institutions to enforce the new rules and regulations. These shifts are evident in the historical
evolution of our current water laws, as summarized in Table 2.
Table 2 Chronology of Water Laws Passed

1866
1889
1912
1936

Spanish Law on Waters

Civil Code of the Philippines
Act No 2152. The Irrigation Act
Commonwealth Act No. 146 (as amended November 1936) creating
12

1949
1966
1973
1975
1976
1976
1977
1978
1986
1987
1990

1991
1995
2004
2005
2010

the Public Service Commission

Civil Code of the Philippines, RA 386
RA 4850 creating the Laguna Lake Development Authority
Provincial Water Utilities Act, PD193
Revised Forestry Code, PD 705
PD 1067 Water Code of the Philippines
Pollution Control Law, PD984
PD 1206 transfers powers of Board of Power and Waterworks to
National Water Resources Council
Philippine Environmental Code
1986 Philippine Constitution
EO 124 renames NWRC to National Water Resource Board
DENR DAO-34 establishes a water classification system for beneficial
use
DENR DAO-35 prescribes maximum limits of municipal and industrial
discharges into water according to classification
Local Government Code
National Water Crisis Act, RA 8041
Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
DAO 2005-23 Adoption and Implementation of Collaborative
Approach to Watershed Management
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, RA10121

6.1 Water Legislations in the Philippines

6.1.1 Early Legislations (Spanish period to 1986)
At the turn of the 20th Century until the early 70s, the watersheds in the country were relatively
intact. Water was abundant and used mainly to irrigate crops, haciendas and plantations.
Customary laws equate the right to use water with land ownership, which is communal in nature.
Land, including those above and below its surface, is considered as owned by the gods and the
spirits and is merely held by people in stewardship. Insofar as early peoples are concerned, land
and the resources found therein constitute one integrated ecosystem.
The Spanish laws on waters was grounded on the Regalian doctrine, which provides that
ownership and control over natural resources belong to the State. The dominant principle
underlying Spanish water laws was the riparian doctrine, which attached water rights to
ownership of land. Water rights were both private and public in nature. Rights to water resources
can only be acquired through a grant given by the State. However, it also recognized the
principle of acquisitive prescription in the use of public waters. This period marked the
beginning of the transfer of control over natural commons including water resources from
communities to the State.
The American-installed civil government perpetuated the dual nature of water ownership, and
introduced the concepts of priority of appropriation and beneficial use. Priority of application
defines who can claim the right to use public waters, that is, the one who appropriated it earlier
13

has a prior and better right. Beneficial use measures and limits these rights to enjoyment of
benefits to the rights holder. During the American period, water rights were appropriated to
support state investments in infrastructure projects.
In 1949, after the Philippines became an independent state, Congress passed the
Civil Code of the Philippines. The Code affirms the right of riparian owners to the flow of water
passing through its natural channels for private ownership, subject however, to the qualification
that upstream owners should not exercise their water rights to the prejudice of the rights legally
acquired by those of the lower estates.
The Water Code of 1976 expressly repealed the provisions of the Civil Code, the
Spanish laws and other earlier laws regarding water rights. From 1977 onwards, the Water Code
consolidated all statutory rules on water rights and uses, applicable everywhere in the country
and applying to everyone. The Code required claimants of customary rights to register and
formalize their rights. Those without formal rights have no legal standing to seek redress for
adverse claims to customary water resources.
Environmental Decline (mid 80s to Present)
Commercial logging and mining brought prosperity to the country but also brought rapid
declines in forest cover. The period was marked by environmental disasters such Ormoc floods,
from which the environmental movement was born. The 1992 Rio accord on Sustainable
Development spurred enactment of a number environment laws in the Philippines, many of
which were passed to establish protected areas, protect watersheds, minimize water pollution and
to expand environmental responsibilities to public offices. More recent laws were formulated to
mitigate impacts from natural disasters and recognized threats from global warming and climate
change.
The Local Government Code of 1991 decentralized broad scope of powers and functions from
the central government to local government units (LGUs) consistent with the policy of
developing autonomous and self-reliant LGUs. The Code devolved several aspects of
governance and the delivery of basic services in health, food, and water. The Code specifically
grants LGUs responsibility over the development of surface and groundwater resources within
their boundaries.
We discussed how earlier laws evolved and responded to opportunities and threats from a
changing environment. The next section deals with an overview of past experiences in watershed
planning, its limitations and lessons to be drawn.
7. Public Planning Using Watershed Approaches
A watershed is a delineated area of land from which rainwater can drain, as surface run-off via a
specific stream or river system before discharging into a river, lake or sea. Watershed
management is the process of guiding land use and other resource uses in a watershed to provide
goods and services without adversely affecting soil and water resources.

14

Natural watersheds are the best adaptation tool to extreme weather events brought about by
Climate Change. However, the United Nations, in their Millennium Ecosystem Report of 2000,
reported the global loss of watersheds and degradation of services they provide to humanity.
Ecosystem-based management is an integrated approach to management that considers the entire
ecosystem, including humans. The goal of ecosystem-based management is to maintain an
ecosystem in a healthy, productive and resilient condition so that it can provide the services
humans want and need. Ecosystem- based management differs from current approaches that
usually focus on a single species, sector, activity or concern; it considers the cumulative impacts
of different sectors . . . (McLeod et al., 2005).
Watershed planning takes a broad ecosystem approach using the surface water divide or
watersheds as the management boundary. Within a watershed, human interaction with the water
cycle needs to be managed to sustain the watershed services to benefit present and future
generations. This section deals with vertically integrated planning approaches to foster actions at
lower levels where they matter most.
7.1 What have we learned so far in watershed planning?
River basin planning is not new. There are 421 principal river basins in 119 proclaimed
watersheds, 19 of which are identified as major river basins. Watershed plans were developed for
many of the major river basins and flood plains. Most plans outlined risks and actions in areas
impacted by dam releases or by natural flooding (e.g. Agusan, Pampanga, Cagayan River, Agno,
Bicol). Various foreign assisted projects funded research, data gathering, modeling and
preparation of master plans. However, these watershed plans were confronted with institutional
hurdles.
Some of the hurdles and lessons in watershed planning are summarized below:
First, there was no coherent alignment and translation of watershed plans into lower level
plans where site based actions matter most. There is no elaboration of watershed targets
and strategies into municipal/city-wide policies, ordinances, plans and further into sitebased management guidelines and management practices.
Second, watershed planning is not explicitly presented in present planning guidelines and
templates prepared by the HLURB for use by LGU planners, or their consultants. The
HLURB published guidelines for preparing Comprehensive Development Plans and
Comprehensive Land Use Plans in 2007.
Third, land use policies do not require development controls for upstream LGUs with
regards to aquifer zoning, converting permeable areas, flood neutral land development, and
others. Since downstream LGUs benefit from these controls, there is no framework for
upstream LGUs to negotiate for equitable sharing of costs and benefits from controlled
development.
Fourth, there is no policy on how to form scale-relevant watershed institutions spanning
towns/cities, provinces and even regions except as voluntary arrangements among LGUs.

15

7.2. A Cohering Approach to Watershed Planning

Fig 5 Hierarchy of watershed plans

The hierarchy of watershed plans is presented in Fig

7.2.1 Watershed Plans
Watershed plans should provide watershed policy and direction for: (1) ecological integrity and
carrying capacity, (2) the protection of rivers, green space planning, (3) management of water
quantity and quality, (4) stormwater management, (5) aquifer and groundwater management, (6)
disaster risk management, (7) fisheries management, (8) rehabilitation programs, (9) framework
for implementation of watershed policies and programs, (10) regional opportunities/constraints
and (11) servicing needs/i.e. water supply and sewerage.
7.2.2 Sub-watershed Plans
Sub-watershed Plans will detail and implement specific sub-watershed targets and objectives, to
establish: (1) natural system linkages and functions, (2) surface and groundwater quantity and
quality management, (3) enhancement, rehabilitation of natural features, (4) areas suitable for
development, (5) best management practices for incorporation into subdivision designs, building
codes; (6) specific implementation schemes and responsibilities for all recommendations, (7)
best management practices for sustainable drainage systems, open space areas and green space
corridors, (8) outline directives for storm water management plans and other studies/designs for
specific areas within the sub-watershed and (9) outline future monitoring requirements.
7.2.3 Site Management Plans
Site Management Plans will (1) present the designs of specific management practices,
subdivision drainage designs, details of enhancement or rehabilitation programs, (2) demonstrate
compatibility of designs with sub-watershed plans and recommendations, (3) requirement for
permits and applications for construction approvals, (4) requirement for clearances of draft plans
prior to detailed plans, (5) include environmental impact assessments, (6) will detail design,
operation and maintenance of stormwater best management practices.

7.2.2 Interfaces with Land use Plans

16

Land use planning is required to increase infiltration, reduce exposure to flood hazard, and to
reduce run off into urban areas. Land use planning needs to be carried out in the context of the
whole catchment. If the catchment boundary crosses governance boundaries (e.g. with river
basins) then cross-border planning and zoning will normally be required. The plan will delineate
and zoning recharge areas/aquifer zones to limit conversion of permeable lands and requiring
water sensitive land uses; zone flood risk using flood modeling with return periods to determine
appropriate development uses with reference to vulnerability of such uses and value of
infrastructure at risk; require building codes to restrict the increase of impermeable surfaces and
to require land developers to conform to best management practices.
Fig. 6 shows example of before-and after-project lake design in Santa Rosa in relation to subwatershed and watershed drainage system. Future residential developments and a central
business district in the sub-watershed will result in increased runoff which is expected to increase
runoff downstream into the river channel of the Cabuyao river. To mitigate future flood impacts,
the developer designed a 1.4 ha lake to detain stormwater from built up areas to be later released
to the creek when flood has subsided.

17

Source: Lake diagram courtesy of Ayala Land Inc.

Fig. 6 Site Development Plan in relation to Watershed drainage

18

8. Institutional Diagnosis
8.1 Water Code of the Philippines
PD 1067 of 1976 otherwise known as the Water Code of the Philippines is the governing law in
the management of water resources. Water use regulation is vested with the National Water
Resources Board. The NWRB is the apex body in the water sector. It is responsible for the
administration and enforcement of the Water code and has policy-making, regulatory and quasijudicial functions. It is vested with huge powers and responsibilities over water rights, allocation,
use and regulates all kinds of alterations of water bodies and their hydrological processes. A
summary of the salient features of the Water code is presented in Table 3.
Table 3 Salient Features of the Philippine Water Code of 1976 and IRR

Nature of Provision
Source
Level
of Water Rights Applications and approval delegated to Art 10
Decentralization offices, ie. DPWH District Engr, NIA Provl, NPC
regl Mgrs , LWUA
Nature of Water Priority in time, seniority in rights
Art 22, 24
Rights
Compensation
Payment for alteration, non-fulfillment or cancellation Art 24, 30
of rights
Adaptive
Water use may curtailed when there is diminution of Art 36, 27
management
water due to natural causes
Water
Use Domestic/Municipal Water Uses as priority
Art 30
Priorities
Flood Neutral Owner of higher estate cannot increase the natural Art 50
Development
flow
Lower estates obliged to receive natural flows, but not
man-made flows
Sustainable
Investigative studies on wells as to safe yield, IRR
Sec
water use
beneficial use, adverse effects to other users, 10-C
environmental effects, contamination to aquifers
Setting standards for beneficial use
Art 16, 18,
20, 21
Carrying
Spacing between wells
Sec 42- l
capacity for
GW
New well should not result in more than 2m drawdown Sec 43-A
in existing wells
Groundwater mining may be allowed provided that the Sec 43-D
life of the groundwater reservoir system is maintained for
at least 50 years.
Minimum stream flows for Environment
Art 66, Sec
44
Flood
Flood Plain mgt Committee (DPWH, NPC, DILG, Sec 36

19

Management

Sus Financing

NIA, NWRC)
- To provide guidelines for local governments in the
formulation of regulatory ordinances regarding
floodplain use and occupancy;
Water Charges for diverted/extracted water
Sec 7

The Water Code contains some of the essential sustainability aspects, such as: maintenance of
base flows, issuance of rights based on water availability, well spacing, environmental impact
assessments, curtailment of water uses based on natural causes and flood neutral development.
The level of decentralization is limited to national agencies and its lower offices, e.g. DPWH,
NIA, NAPOCOR, LWUA, Water Districts.

8.2 Weaknesses in Administration and Enforcement of the Water Code

Although the Water Code has been in effect for almost three decades, compliance
with the permit requirements is low. According to the NWRB, extraction rates are understated by
as much as 30% and approximately only 40% of users have the requisite water permits and pay
the annual fees and charges. Further, an ordinary citizen would not know where to go to get a
permit, or that a permit is required, or that NWRB even exists.
Prior to approving a water permit for diversion/extraction, the NWRB is responsible to gather the
following information:
The approximate seasonal discharge of the water sources;
The amount of water already appropriated for beneficial use;
The water requirement of the applicant as determined from standards of beneficial use
prescribed by the Board;
Possible adverse effects on existing grantees/permittees or public/private interest
including mitigating measures;
Environmental effects;
Land-use economics;
The conduct of periodic studies to support decisions to award rights based on available water can
be expensive. NWRB neither has the manpower nor resources to conduct studies.
8.3 Institutional Gaps and Recommendations
We summarize a number of institutional hurdles in integrating watershed and water resources
management at a watershed scale.
First, the policy tools and instruments that are necessary for managing water resources are
not decentralized but remains with national agencies, i.e. NWRB. However, the NWRB
does not have field offices or personnel in the provinces or municipalities which means
there is no monitoring or enforcement of the permit requirement.

20

Second, there is no reliable hydrologic information to support decision-making as to water

resources and disaster risk management. The prospect of climate change suggests the need
to document water withdrawals, consumptive uses, natural variations in stream flows and
groundwater levels. The information would be useful in providing the basis for reducing
future disputes and to support allocation decisions including permit approvals and
provision for environmental flows. Efficient storage, quick retrieval of information and
simplicity in reporting systems would be valuable.
Third, watershed management requires dealing with different LGUs that are run like
kingdoms which tend to be unwieldy.
Fourth, faced with fiscal deficits, the national government views water charges as a
revenue generating mechanism. The Code requires water charges to revert to the National
Treasury.
Given the institutional hurdles, we propose amendments to adapt the code to current demands
and to future climate change scenarios. Major improvements can be made on the following:
Groundwater Use. To conform with sustainability criteria for groundwater use, Sec 43-D
should be amended to limit groundwater abstraction no higher than recharge rates.
Flood Neutral Development. LGUs should legislate localized subdivision and/or building
codes to require flood neutral development as a long-term solution to flooding. Art 50 of
the Water Code could be elaborated to reflect this proposal by updating its corresponding
IRR.
Decentralized Watershed Governance. Finally, decentralized watershed and water
governance means co-management arrangements be made with LGUs. Current modalities
are limited to deputation arrangements with no sharing of powers and mandates.
Financial Sustainability. Finally, the Local Government Code allows LGUs to have a
share in the natural wealth (in this case water resources). LGUs should be allowed to
benefit from fees from water charges (Sec 7).

9. Dynamics of Institutions in the Santa Rosa Watershed

9.1. Common Pool Resources and Governance Institutions
Freshwater resources are classified as common pool resources because they share two important
characteristics: (1) exclusion or control of access of potential users is difficult, (2) each user is
capable of subtracting from the welfare of other users.
For example, the de facto open access of water resources means any user can divert water from
rivers or drill a well anywhere and that it will be difficult to monitor every user. Second, the

21

subtractability problem means less water is available to downstream communities when

upstream users over pump or diversifies river flows for off-stream use.
Social Capital in Agrarian Societies
The Philippines was a pioneer in involving farmers in irrigation planning and
management building on a centuries-old tradition of local communities
developing and managing small irrigation systems. Separated by geography,
distinct ethnic groupings have emerged with a common set of values, such as
pakikisama and hiya. These characteristics define the Filipino social system
and influence the nature of participation in any community activity, including
those related to irrigation, planting and harvesting. It is common for family
members and neighbors to freely give their help. Water harvesting practices
reflect more traditional, local-level social norms. For example, indigenous
farmers in the Cordillera region have long established ways to formulate and
enforce rules in water use and in the protection of watersheds as evidenced by
the muyong system. For indigenous groups, land and water resources contain
spirits and the fruits from nature should be shared with one another and for the
next generation. Removing customary control over water resources transfer of
water rights to external agents, such as mining companies, is strongly resisted
by these communities.
The theory of the commons has undergone major transformations over the years, starting from
the tragedy of the commons model to small scale, community-based systems. Studies have
documented how self-organization and self-regulation by communities are able to solve the
exclusion and subtractability problems of the commons (Ostrom 1990, Wade 1994, Baland &
Platteau 1996, Agrawal 2002).
However, community based resource management has been shown to be vulnerable to external
drivers and often insufficient to deal with problems. From this base, several theories are
advanced on the kind and type of institutions needed to address commons that are larger, more
complex, involving multiple resources and user groups (Ostrom et al 1994, Young 2002:149,
Berkes 2006).
We contend that the evolution of scale-relevant governance institutions is dynamic, marked by
distinct phases - progressing from unregulated and abundant supply conditions, recognition of
resource constraints and externalities, setting limits and rules on resource use, to creating
institutions to enforce the rules and regulations.
The governance of water resources can be described as a continuum: from self-regulated,
community-based management of water resources in one end, to state-created utilities supplying
water to a city populated by millions in another. In between these two ends, governance systems
can be confusing often marked by conflicts, oftentimes between local norms over water use in
one end and state administered utilities and water rights in the other.

22

What is lacking with watershed institutions is a clear legal framework that specifies the roles
and responsibilities, rights and obligations of stakeholders, the levels of decentralization,
vertical integration and horizontal coordination, and the processes and means for good water
governance.
9.2 Evolving Rule-making in the Santa Rosa watershed
Using the Santa Rosa watershed case as an example, we explain drivers and the conditions that
drive the evolution of scale-relevant institutions in Santa Rosa. This evolving process is marked
by four distinct periods, namely: 1) Era of abundant water resources (1700-1990), 2) recognition
of scarcity problems (1990-2000), and 3) search for scale-relevant regulations and institutions
(2000 present).
9.2.1 Era of abundant water resources (1700-1990)
During the post-war era, until the 1970s, the towns people in three towns of Binan, Cabuyao and
Santa Rosa were largely dependent on basic agriculture and family-owned enterprises for
livelihood. Large tracts of land, known as friar lands, were planted to rice and sugar. To boost
year-round agricultural production, groundwater pumping complemented rainfed agriculture.
Conflicts Over Matang Tubig Spring: Missing the Bigger Picture
In 1688, Bian, together with Barrio Bukol (Santa Rosa, before separation from
Bian) separated from Cabuyao. After a series of renaming, separation of barrios
to become independent towns, Barrio Bukol was politically emancipated as the
municipality of Santa Rosa. The three towns occupy a floodplain with good
climate and soils suitable to farm crops, which led to its establishment as an
encomienda in 1571. The Franciscans arrived and carved out haciendas and the
area became popularly known as friar lands. Cabuyao retained within its municipal
boundary the upland barangay of Casile where the Matang Tubig Spring feeds into
the Diezmo River. Water from this spring, reported at 700-1000 lps, used to
irrigate the vast sugar plantations in Canlubang. Together with Bucal spring in
Calamba, the Matang Tubig spring is the only viable source of surface water in the
First District of Laguna (aside from Laguna Lake). With large-scale developments
taking place in Santa Rosa, new sources of water are required. The original settlers
are suspicious of outsiders visiting their spring. Conflicting rights and overlapping
claims by water clamants to Matang Tubig spring have yet to be resolved in court.
The larger threat to the spring however is the loss of recharge due to land
conversion in the eastern barangays of Silang. Neither Silang nor Cabuyao LGU is
attending to this larger issue.

The National Irrigation Administration shifted from groundwater to surface water use when over
pumping for irrigation depleted water tables. To maximize surface water use, NIA built the
Macabling weir in Santa Rosa City to impound storm water from higher Silang, then distributed

23

these by gravity to rice paddy areas through a network of canals. These structures which
sustained rice agriculture have become de facto informal drainage systems for lower Santa Rosa.
9.2.2 Decline in Environmental Quality (1990-2000)
During the Ramos years (1992-1998), fiscal incentives and no-strike policies attracted industries
to locate in Laguna. With close proximity to Metro Manila, the Laguna towns underwent rapid
transformation. It is in the agricultural provinces of Manilas extended metropolitan region
where an industrializing and globalizing economy is driving major transformations in the social,
economic and political spheres. The process of urbanization resulted in the encroachment of
urban land uses and employment into rural settings.
Liberal policies stimulated land markets that led to changes in land uses, transfer in land
ownership, outmigration and in-migration. Large swathes of irrigated agricultural land have been
converted into a variety of urban and industrial use. Changes in land ownership altered
traditional management of communal land and water resources.
The groundwater resources map of the Philippines identified the coastal towns in the western
Laguna de Bay as a water abundant region. As industries located in Laguna in the early 1990s,
water use shifted from agriculture to industrial. The number of water-dependent industries grew
as a result of good infrastructure, favorable investment policies and proximity to Manila.
At this time, water issues were beginning to surface. Over abstraction of groundwater is
compounded by problems related to water quality.
During a WWF wellhead survey in 2010, long time residents near the lake observed the loss of
free flowing artesian wells. Owners of shallow tube wells complained of poor water quality and
blamed new wells competing with old wells. Poorer households are disadvantaged as they cannot
afford to drill deeper to draw cleaner water. Land subsidence from over-pumping is suspected
based on observed protruding well tubes and cracked bases.
The recognition by LGUs of the water problem is evident in the Comprehensive Land Use Plans
crafted in 2000 by the three towns. The aim is to make available clean potable water in all
houses and business establishments, and to ensure water security by protecting the watershed and
groundwater resources of the municipality.
9.2.3 Institutional Responses (2000 present).
A number of environmental legislations were passed by the LGUs during this period. The city of
Sta. Rosa has so far has the most updated local environmental policies and regulations that
support national legislations on environmental protection and management. Since 1999, the City
has passed 13 environmental legislations and instruments, the latest of which is the City
Environmental code of 2011. This code looks at land, air, water, waste and co-management
arrangements with national and regional offices. During the public hearings, the larger
corporations welcomed the new regulations. This is a paradigm shift compared in the past where
companies resisted laws regulating their actions.
Other municipalities like Cabuyao, Laguna and Silang, Cavite have yet to systematically
organize their local ordinances in support of national legislations for easy retrieval and reference
of these laws. The Municipality of Silang organized two environmental summits and attempted

24

to draft its environmental code in 2009 and establishment of the MENRO office. The process
was aborted by the election ban two months before the May 2010 elections.
High donor interest to fund LGU projects within the Santa Rosa Watershed indicates high level
of confidence in the leadership of these LGUs. Under World Bank funding, the LGUs of Binan,
Santa Rosa and Cabuyao prepared their respective land use plans. The World Bank-funded
LISCOP project implemented by LLDA provided a grant and loan component for institutional
strengthening and establishment of sanitary landfills. The USAID funded a wastewater treatment
facility for the City Public Market of Santa Rosa City.

9.3. Public-Private Cooperation through River Rehabilitation Councils

In 1997, the LLDA played a key role in mobilizing the stakeholders, namely the private sector,
Municipal/City Environmental and Natural Resources Officers from each watershed town,
Rotary Club, and local residents when it organized the Save-Silang-Santa-Rosa-River
Foundation (S3R2), an NGO whose mission was to rehabilitate the Santa Rosa River. Active
member companies were the Coca-Cola Bottlers Plant in Santa Rosa, Toyota Auto Parts, Laguna
Techno Park and many others. Plant executives from the Coca-Cola Bottlers Corporation took
over the helm of the foundation for more than a decade.
Corporate social responsibility was the driving force behind private sector efforts in Santa Rosa.
Various pursuits in river rehabilitation tree planting, clean up drives, school campaigns
marked the activities of companies operating in the watershed. The corporate members, assisted
by the LGU MENRO offices, mobilized volunteers to haul river wastes in three zones
throughout the 27 km stretch of the Santa Rosa River.
Tree planting was done in Zone 1 of the Silang stretch of the river which suffer from eroding
banks. Companies implemented their own appropriate environmental strategy in Zone 2 where
heavy industries operate. In Zone 3, where population is dense and domestic waste of
communities spill into the canals and waterways, the S3R2 members pioneered the
environmental army concept where volunteer fishermen trained by the LLDA patrolled and
policed the area of polluters. Later the LGUs, through the initiation of their MENROs, set up
their own environmental army though the barangay local government and schools.
Under an Adopt-a-Barangay campaign, the member companies planted trees along riverbanks
to mitigate erosion. They coordinated with schools and with the Girl Scouts of the Philippines to
raise awareness, mobilize students to monitor and collect wastes in particular sections of the
river.
Source: The river runs freely again. http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleld=135210
9.4. Stakeholder Dynamics
9.4.1 Stakeholder Perceptions
Stakeholder perceptions on which sectors have rights to resources and which agencies should
make policies are important inputs to designing co-management institutions.

25

In 2005, the Laguna de Bay Environmental Action Planning (LEAP) project of the LLDA
conducted a stakeholder analysis using Focus Group Discussions (FGD) to assess stakeholders
interests and perceptions on institutions, stakeholder inter-relations, affinity to land and water
resources, and readiness to be involved in watershed management. The FGDs were held in each
LGU with participants from municipal/city officials, basic sectors, water district, private sector,
NGOs and private individuals.
Common among the participating municipalities is the perception that LLDA and the LGU as
institutions that are relevant, important and having high influence in terms of policy and
decision-making vis--vis watershed resources conservation and management. In terms of prior
rights, the local stakeholders perceive low pre-existing rights to the use of watershed resources.
This may mean that as communities are being urbanized and becoming heterogenous, there is
gradual detachment of sense of belonging to the natural environment among its stakeholders.
The real state developers, golf courses, business establishments and industry group are perceived
to be the profit-oriented and whose activities are potential threats to the watershed. In the city of
Santa Rosa, the S3R2 river council is surprisingly noted as highly influential and important
where decisions on the use and management of the watershed are concerned.
The LEAP report concludes that, given the encouraging perception on the government
institutions (DENR, LLDA) and their roles in the rationale management of the watershed, an
opportunity for working closer with LGUs is presented (LLDA 2005).
9.4.2 WWF Institutional Capacity Study
In 2010, WWF commissioned a study to assess current capacities, mandates of local stakeholders
in relation to watershed and water resources management. The objective was to design watershed
institutions that will address scale issues and coordinate vertical linkages with national/regional
agencies. Interviews were arranged with three (3) mayors, eleven (11) local officials, S3R2
President, water utilities (Laguna Water Co., Manila Water, Cabuyao Water) and national
agencies such as the DPWH, DENR and NWRB. The findings show regulatory powers over
surface waters was delegated by NWRB to LLDA, while NWRB retains jurisdiction over
groundwater. Water quality is being monitored by LLDA, Water Districts and Municipal Health
Offices.
The LGUs that were interviewed were reported to have limited or no capacity to exercise water
resource or watershed management alone or even jointly with other LGUs. The activities of the
S3R2 are limited to cleaning up and rehabilitating the Santa Rosa river.
With Clean Water Act as the legal framework, the study recommended the creation of an
Integrated Watershed and Water Resource Management Council, strengthening the participation
of the private sector through the S3R2 Foundation, adoption of an Integrated Water Resource
Management Plan and Framework and Capacity Building of the LGUs to formulate and
implement the IWRM Plan. (Demigillo 2010).

26

9.4.3 Politics of Scale, Position, Place

While the projects implemented by the private sector and the LGUs are laudable, their impacts
are limited. Cash et al (2006) summarizes three challenges facing water resources management
as ignorance of scales, mismatch and plurality.
Ignorance of scales is failure to understand water resources as part of larger complex ecological
systems. Mismatch means the solutions do not correspond to the scale in which the problem
occurs. While plurality is a constraint imposed by a large number and variety of publics - their
value systems, power bases, and cultures - that makes consensus-building and compliance to
rules unwieldy.
The trans-boundary nature of watersheds and inter-local water resources management raises
questions on how politics, given local government autonomy, are played out which may either
enable or hinder the development of watershed institutions. Experience tells us that local
autonomy, or its interpretation by LGUs, can constrain attempts by meso-level bodies, such as
MMDA and LLDA, to standardize and enforce laws across political boundaries.
9.5 Politics Mapping of Stakeholders
The politics at play are important considerations in inter-local dynamics. How do power
differences based on position, place and scale among actors in a watershed enable or
constrain agreements and formation of meso-level watershed institutions? These questions are
central in ongoing efforts and discussions in promoting inter-local, public-private cooperative
arrangements in the Santa Rosa watershed. To identify incentives for different actors to develop
agreements and participate in watershed institutions, it is useful to map stakeholder interests and
corresponding power base from which to propel those interests (Table 4).
Lebel et al (2005) distinguishes the different forms of politics as politics of scale, position and
place. Politics of scale or level refers to higher state or regional offices that hold the legal
mandate and oversight over lower level units of the organization. The politics of place is played
out through the downhill flow of water which creates asymmetry among potential users, with
first-come-first served enjoyed by upstream communities. The politics of position refers to
special characteristics not found in the politics of scale or place. These can be income,
development status, population or land area.
Table 4 Mapping Political Bases of Stakeholders in the Santa Rosa Watershed

Actors
LLDA
Silang LGU
Santa Rosa LGU
Cabuyao LGU
Binan LGU
Private Sector

Scale
(1)

Place

Position

(2)
(3,4)
(3)
(3)
(5)

(1) LLDA has wide legal jurisdiction (politics of scale) over the 24 watersheds within Laguna
Lake. Its authority includes regulation of surface waters, water pollution, pollution charging, and
27

approval of development permits. However, it lacks the resources to perform its mandate. There
is no national budget appropriation given to LLDA which derives its revenues from pollution
charges and surface water permits. Ultimately, LLDA will have to depend on LGU resources to
finance investments in the watershed.
(2) Silang, a 1st class Municipality, is located upstream where it hosts the headwaters to seven (7)
watersheds in Laguna and Cavite. It has the advantage of being the first user of water resources
(politics of place). It maintains vast agricultural land that is the recharge area of the watershed.
Its land use affects downstream hydrology including flooding in lower Santa Rosa. Silang,
whose economy is derived from agriculture, is the poorest member among the watershed towns.
As it aspires to be like its neighbors, can it leverage its position to extract agreements with
downstream towns?
(3) The towns of Santa Rosa, Binan and Cabuyao host a large number of business locators that
drive the economic growth in the CALABARZON. Significant revenues from real property
taxes, business permits qualified these towns to become new cities (Cabuyao has a pending bill
in Congress). The cities depend on recharge from Silang for their groundwater supply. City
officials are increasingly under public scrutiny as they grapple with complex problems affecting
their constituents, e.g. drinking water, wastes, drainage, slums. Because of their wealth, these
towns benefit from the politics of position.
(4) Santa Rosa City occupies the largest area in the watershed (politics of position). The city
would benefit the most from watershed actions. In terms of capacities and environmental
activism, Santa Rosa City scores high with the highest number of watershed activities and
ordinances.
(5) The private sector drives the economy in the watershed. A number of big-name corporations,
e.g. Coke, Asia Brewery, Toyota, are involved in river rehabilitation through the S3R2. Their
financial clout, expertise and advanced practices in environmental management are bargaining
strengths (politics of position).
From the mapping exercise, we deduce that politics based on scale, position, or place, are
derived from different bases and held by different actors. Four out of six derive their power from
positions, while Silang and LLDA derive their power from place and scale respectively.
How different actors will leverage their power in order to achieve their strategic interests is part
of the drama of the commons that has yet to unfold in Santa Rosa.

10. Towards Developing Decentralized Watershed Institutions in Santa Rosa: The Missing
Link in IWRM
10.1 Vertical Integration
A major premise of the devolution theory is the argument that local water users have the
strongest incentive to manage that resource more efficiently and sustainably than the centrally
financed government agency because of better local supervision (Meinzen-Dick & Knox, 1999).
The subsidiarity principle means allowing decisions affecting peoples welfare to be made at the
28

lowest levels of organization. Co-management has emerged to be the more popular institutional
arrangement resulting from negotiated agreements between local and state actors (Young 2006).
The relevant agencies and that will take part in administrative/co-management agreements with
the Santa Rosa watershed institution are presented in Table 5.
Table 5 Relevant Functions Proposed for Co-Management Agreements

Co-Managed Functions
Performing water balances to determine
available/allocable water
Issuing Rights to abstract ground water for
water supply
Issuing Rights to divert surface water for water
supply
Regulating beneficial uses of water
Adjudication of disputes relating to the
appropriation,
utilization,
exploitation,
development, control and conservation, and
protection of waters.
Stream level monitoring
Flood Control Engineering
Charging fees for groundwater uses
Watershed Planning and Mgt
Charging fees for diverting surface water,
effluent discharges

Agency
NWRB

Governing law
PD1067

NWRB

PD1067

LLDA

EO 927

NWRB
NWRB

PD1067
PD1067

DPWH
NWRB
LLDA
LLDA

PD1067
EO 510
RA 4850
EO 927
Clean Water Act
Designating water quality areas, monitoring LLDA, DENR, Clean Water Act
water quality (surface and ground)
NWRB, DOH
Flood Neutral development
NWRB
PD1067
LLDA
EO510
Forest Protection
DENR-CENRO
PD704
Toxic Waste
DENR-EMB
RA6969
Physical Framework Plans
Provincial LGU
10.1.1 Environmental Code of Santa Rosa City
In July 2011, the City of Santa Rosa passed its City Environmental Code which covers land, air,
water, wastes and energy. Recognizing the limited efficiency of central governments in
managing land, water and air resources, the Code empowers the City Mayor to enter into
administrative agreements with the NWRB, LTFRB, EMB, LLDA, etc. The code enjoins its
mayor to enter into partnerships with neighboring municipalities/cities in jointly managing
floods and groundwater resources.

29

To maintain and ensure floodwaters are conveyed within the design capacity of hydraulic
structures, the City of Santa Rosa legislated flood neutral development through its City
Environmental Code of 2011. Art V, Sec 50 states:
Article V, Sec 50. Methods/measures to address problems of recharge and
flooding. To address the problems of recharge and flooding in the City, contractors,
developers and/or planners shall incorporate in their development plans provisions for
retention ponds, detention ponds, rain gardens and/or swales insofar as these are
appropriate in the area being developed.
The code will require land developers to build runoff controls in their sites to ensure that peak
discharges and flood volumes before development are not exceeded. However, these controls
must be in place not only in Santa Rosa but throughout the watershed to address the cumulative
impacts of urban land uses on stream stability, downstream flooding and water quality.
These controls will complement future plans by the City to prepare a Flood Master Plan in order
to install a modern drainage system in lower parts of town. These investments will require
significant amounts of money. The useful life of these future investments will not optimized
unless best management practices and structural controls are made part of land use practices
throughout the watershed.
10.2 Horizontal Cooperation
Within any basin there will inevitably be conflicting demands and uses for water. Watershed
institutions will require horizontal cooperation between LGUs, sectoral offices and water user
groups within a catchment. The purpose of horizontal cooperation is to ensure the rules are
developed in a participatory manner and that compliance is enforced and monitored. For the
Santa Rosa watershed institution, the relevant agencies or groups that need to be represented in
Table 6.
Table 6 List of Watershed Stakeholders

LGUs

Agriculture
Industry/Comml

Heavy users of water

Property Developers
Homeowner Associations
Irrigation
Water supplies
Wastewater treatment
NGOs

Binan, Santa Rosa, Cabuyao, Silang

(ENRO, Planning, Health, Engg)
Barangays
Silang farmer coop
Laguna Techno-park
Business Groups
S3R2 NGO
Coca Cola, Asia Brewery, Nestle, San Miguel Corp, Gilbeys
Ayala Land, Greenfield, ETON, etc
NIA, Macabling Irrigators Group
Laguna Water Corp.
Santa Rosa based NGOs

30

10.3 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (RA 9275)

Republic Act No. 9275 otherwise known as Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 provides the
legal framework for the governance, organizational structure, financing arrangements and
process for delineating a Water Quality Management Area and formulation of a clean water
program.
The institutional best fit to enable the formation of more accountable watershed institutions is
found in the Clean Water Act. The salient features of the Clean Water Act are summarized in
Table 7.
Table 7 Salient Features of Clean Water Act

Subject

Scope

Water
Quality Watershed, river basins or water resources regions
Management Area Designated by NWRB thru DENR DAO
boundary
WQMA Action Plan Sewerage, septage, schedule of compliance, goals,
targets & strategies, info & education program,
resources needed and sources, enforcement
procedures, rewards & incentives
Laguna de Bay
Laguna Lake as WQMA, LLDA as WQMB
Board Members
LGU, NGAs, NGOs, water utility, business
association, DENR as chair
Stakeholders with PAMB, FARMC, FMA, MOAs, watershed
common interest
councils, LGUs, RDCs, academe, IPs
Priority
Areas where water quality has exceeded water
quality standards
Data requirements
Topographic, land use, political maps; water
sampling results, runoff, discharge, water level,
other water related data, threats, socio-economic,
infrastructure, water supply, sanitation, sewerage
Processing
Pollution load modeling/calculations, plot WQMA
boundaries
WQMB functions
Water quality Status report, prepare WQMA
Action Plan; harmonize policies, laws
Sewage collection, By water concessionaires for Metro Manila,
treatment
and Highly Urbanized Cities
disposal
By DPWH in coordination with DENR, DoH for
non-HUCs
Funding
Area Water Quality Management Funded from
wastewater charges/fees
Carrying capacity of Allocation of effluent quotas in the discharge
receiving
water permits to attain water quality standards of
body
receiving bodies
Scope of Coverage Natural, man-made bodies of fresh, brackish,

Source
Provision
IRR Sec 5

Sec 5.10
Sec 5.3
Sec 5.1.5 (IRR)

DENR Manual

Sec 8

Sec 9
Sec 14

Art 2 - oo

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of Water
Definition

Body saline waters including aquifers, groundwater,

springs, etc.

Deputation Powers of the NWRB

The Philippine Water Code vests with national government, through the NWRB, with
vast powers in the development and management of water resources. The problem is
that the national government has little capacity to enforce rules dealing with a large
number of water users, big and small, with regards to their actions over a wide area.
Launching effective enforcement actions under national oversight will be very
expensive.
To strengthen its enforcement and administrative capacities, the NWRB deputized
several agencies (NIA, DPWH, NPC and Water Districts) to perform some of its
functions. In some cases, the NWRB deputized the LGUs (Sta Fe Municipality,
Bantayan, Madridejos in Cebu). NWRB agreed to joint groundwater monitoring with
Quezon City and San Juan and entering into agreements with Palawan, Naga City,
Davao City and Davao City water District. The obligations of the LGU include
requirement for drilling applicants of a business permit and accreditation with the
NWRB; monitor well drilling; collect data on well users and undertake information
campaign among groundwater users.

10.4 Recap and Conclusion

Using the Santa Rosa Case, we described the changing hydrology confronting most watersheds
brought about by population increases, land use change and changing climate. These changes
will affect domestic water supplies, agricultural production, hydropower generation and intensify
natural disasters such as flooding and land slides to many areas including areas historically
imagined to be less vulnerable. To respond to this set of formidable challenges, we looked at
current legislations and past attempts and lessons in watershed management particularly on
weaknesses in management integration and the institutional hurdles. We examined dynamics of
local stakeholders, their history of cooperation, interests, politics, perceptions and capacities.
We propose a co-management structure for integrated water and watershed management and a
process of adaptive governance at the watershed level. The IWRM framework provides the
platform for integrated management. The governing structures, to be effective, will require
horizontal and vertical linkages to reach out to different stakeholders- both local and national. A
list of stakeholders and administrative arrangements are presented in the Santa Rosa case.
The institutional fit to enable the formation of more accountable watershed institutions is found
in the Clean Water Act. We discussed its salient features and how watershed management
institutions can be structured around this law.

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10.5 Lessons
1. The Business Case of Watershed Management. Mayors will not participate in
watershed activities unless the proportionate benefits from doing so (versus cost of
participating) are quantified and made clear to them. The flood master plan can be made
as starting point. But the savings and synergy should be made clear so each town can
decide on whether to proceed as a group or individually.
2. Start with Low-Hanging Fruits. Not all LGUs, and departments within a watershed, have
the same interest, motivation and capability in environmental management. The project
worked more closely with Santa Rosa because of the interest shown by staff and affinity
with the mayor and harmonious relations with the SB members. The waning interest of
the rest can be explained by the relatively smaller areas covered by these towns in the
watershed, and fewer benefits that accrue to their favor.
3. Finding Thematic Champions within LGUs. Proposed solutions are matched to an
environmental champion within the LGU, followed by piggy-backing of the water and
watershed agenda with the office. For example, the formulation of the Flood Master Plan
and DED was pushed through the City Planning Office of Santa Rosa. While the
formulation of water provisions in the City Environmental Code was driven by the City
Environmental Office.
4. Watershed Hierarchal Planning Templates. The alignment of watershed goals, sub-basin
targets, site-management plans, building and subdivision codes and property
development guidelines will require development of planning templates and hydrological
databases. These are not presently provided by the HLURB planning templates and
CLUP guidebooks.
5. Role of the LLDA as Watershed Institution. LLDA will need to enunciate a clear vision
for the lake, decentralize watershed management through the Clean Water act; require
LGU planners to adhere to planning templates; provide technical expertise; install
Monitoring & Evaluation systems including LGU compliance mechanisms.

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